Trillion-dollar-valued Amazon pays $0 in income taxes for 2018, gets multi-million refund

Trillion-dollar-company Amazon skated through 2018's tax filings without paying a cent for the second year in a row. The e-commerce behemoth, which made $11 billion last year, will pay no taxes at all, thanks to 2017's tax reform.

Rather than pay the standard 21 percent corporate income tax rate, Amazon is actually claiming a tax rebate of $129 million, which works out to a logic-defying rate of -1 percent. Aside from the nebulous “tax credits,” which the company does not have to spell out in its public filings, Amazon is also claiming a tax break for executive stock options, according to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy – a longstanding loophole that permits profitable corporations to dodge federal and state income taxes on almost half their profits.

While President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax reform legislation lowered corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 21 percent, it was sold as an incentive for companies to keep their money in the US, instead of stashing it overseas where the IRS couldn’t touch it. Now that Amazon and Netflix have both made headlines for using the new regulations to avoid paying anything at all, it remains to be seen whether the legislation’s failure to close corporate loopholes will leave the US holding the bag for fiscal year 2018 as the country’s national debt inches past $22 trillion – a record high.

https://www.rt.com/business/451417-amazon-pays-negative-tax-loopholes/

Guaido Hires US Lobbyists, Including Ex-World Bank Official - FARA Filing

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has hired a former World Bank official and an attorney specializing in international finance to lobby the US government on his behalf, a Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filing revealed.

"This amendment to registrant's Registration Statement is to give notice of a new foreign principal, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela under President Juan Guaido", the document said.

Attorneys Eli Whitney Debevoise and Arturo Caraballo from international law firm Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP are listed as registrants in the filing, which is dated 11 February but was publicly posted by an advocacy group on Wednesday.

https://sputniknews.com/latam/201902141072403930-venezuela-usa-guaido-lobbyists/

>>5163575

I'm looking through a hole in the sky

I'm seeing nowhere through the eyes of a lie

I'm getting closer to the end of the line

I'm living easy where the sun doesn't shine

I'm living in a room without any view

I'm living free because the rent's never due

The synonym of all the things that I've said

Are just the riddles that are built in my head

Black Sabbath - Hole In The Sky

‘Spineless Morons’ — Dallas Megachurch Pastor Rips ‘NeverTrump’ Evangelicals

Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of one of the nation’s largest churches and a prominent evangelical supporter of President Donald Trump, criticized so-called “Never Trump” evangelicals as “spineless morons” who “cannot admit that they were wrong.”

“Let me say this as charitably as I can,” the First Baptist Dallas pastor said during a Wednesday appearance on “The Todd Starnes Radio Show”. “These ‘Never Trump’ evangelicals are morons. They are absolutely spineless morons and they cannot admit that they were wrong.”

https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/13/robert-jeffress-never-trump-spineless-morons/

KY sheriff to public: ‘load your guns,’ entire dept suspended over funding

Failed funding is forcing a Kentucky sheriff to suspend all police activity and now the county is on their own for protection.

Martin County Sheriff John Kirk told his residents, “Folks, lock your doors, load your guns and get you a barking, biting dog,” Fox News reported.

There has been a drastic cut in the eastern Kentucky coal severance taxes which has resulted in reduced compensation in the coal mining counties.

Since 2012, that money has decreased by 80 percent. It has been a big hit to the communities as a percentage of the money funded local governments.

Kentucky sheriff suspends law enforcement over lack of funding: ‘Lock your doors, load your guns’ https://t.co/3qq5rMMAYg

— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) February 12, 2019

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/02/ky-sheriff-to-citizens-lock-your-doors-load-your-guns-entire-dept-suspended-over-funding/

Democrats Slip “Poison Pill” into Border Security Plan – That will Prevent Building the Wall (VIDEO)

Congressional negotiators announced on Monday night they have a border wall funding agreement they believe President Trump will sign into law.

The agreement was announced by a group of lawmakers led by Republican Sen. Richard Shelby and Democratic Rep. Nita Lowey, after a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/02/democrats-slip-poison-pill-into-border-security-plan-that-will-prevent-building-the-wall-video/

Brrr… Snow Falls for the First Time Ever in Hawaii State Park – Democrats Want to Ban Cow Farts

Snow fell for the first time ever in the Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area in Hawaii today.

For perhaps the first time ever, snow has fallen in a Hawai’i State Park. Polipoli State Park on Maui is blanketed with snow.

Snow has fallen in a Hawaii state park for what officials say could be the first time ever https://t.co/yfGHPNbQYc pic.twitter.com/oUnrKQofUV

— CNN International (@cnni) February 13, 2019

Meanwhile, US Democrats are fighting cow farts and banning air travel.

And Ocasio Cortez wants to rebuild every US building and rid the country of oil.

Because the world has only 12 years before global warming wipes out everything.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/02/brrr-snow-falls-for-the-first-time-ever-in-hawaii-state-park-democrats-want-to-ban-cow-farts/

F-16 Fighting Falcon overruns Misawa runway due to weather conditions

An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon overran the runway at Misawa Air Base on Tuesday, causing a brief closure that led to flight cancellations and delays.

The incident occurred at approximately 10:45 a.m. during a routine landing, said 35th Fighter Wing spokeswoman Capt. Lauren Linscott. No injuries were reported and there was no damage to the aircraft.

The fighter only slightly overran the area where it was supposed to land “as a result of weather conditions,” Linscott said. It never left the paved surface.

Weather forecasts called for about a centimeter of snow that morning.

“This section of the airfield exists so that, in events such as this, aircraft remain safe and on a paved surface,” Linscott wrote in an email to Stars and Stripes. “The pilot executed the landing according to protocol, the aircraft remained on pavement throughout the entire event and the F-16 was towed back to parking.”

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/02/f-16-fighting-falcon-overruns-misawa-runway-due-to-weather-conditions/

Former American Idol Contestant Arrested for Alleged Role in Drug Conspiracy

A former American Idol contestant is now facing a federal drug charge for her alleged role in a drug distribution scheme. Antonella Barba, 32, allegedly delivered drugs including cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl for a multi-state drug ring, according to a court document that was unsealed on Monday. Barba was first arrested in Norfolk, Virginia on Oct. 11, when she was allegedly caught delivering approximately two pounds of fentanyl.

https://lawandcrime.com/celebrity/former-american-idol-contestant-arrested-for-alleged-role-in-drug-conspiracy/

Florida Governor Orders Grand Jury Investigation Just Before Parkland Mass Shooting Anniversary

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is ordering a grand jury investigation into how school districts statewide are addressing student security. The announcement comes the day before the one-year anniversary of the Parkland mass shooting, during which a gunman opened fire and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County.

The grand jury will be impaneled for a year and will have subpoena power in reviewing how school districts have been handling security funding, according to the Sun-Sentinel. For the last year, Broward County officials have been scrutinized and criticized for how they handled the shooting. Two security guards and a school resource officer lost their jobs over the incident.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/florida-governor-orders-grand-jury-investigation-just-before-parkland-mass-shooting-anniversary/

Apple’s ‘Compliance’ Lawyer Whose Job Was to Prevent Insider Trading Charged for Insider Trading

Apple’s lead compliance lawyer, whose job before he was fired was to make sure that the company did not commit insider trading no-no’s, has been charged for insider trading.

The former senior director of corporate law at Apple, Gene Levoff, was accused by the SEC on Tuesday of insider trading in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.

In particular, already with an apparent history of insider trading, Levoff is accused of trading nonpublic information on at least three occasions to keep $382,000 in stocks he would have otherwise lost. He was fired in September 2018.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/apples-compliance-lawyer-whose-job-was-to-prevent-insider-trading-charged-for-insider-trading/

USC Moves Forward with $215M Settlement in Doctor Sex Abuse Case, and Ex-Patients Aren’t Happy

The lawsuit against the University of Southern California and school doctor George Tyndall may be wrapping up as the sides involved near a settlement, but not everyone is pleased with the possible result. Tyndall has been accused of sexually abusing students during exams while he was the school’s gynecologist, a position he held from 1989 to 2016. A proposed settlement agreement filed with the court on Tuesday would result in a $215 million payout from the school, but with the number of plaintiffs involved, individuals may not be satisfied with the settlement.

The settlement agreement says that the most an individual could collect is $250,000, provided they are interviewed by a special master who will then evaluate their claims. Those who send written statements to the special master could receive between $7,500 and $20,000. Others could receive a minimum of $2,500.

https://lawandcrime.com/lawsuit/usc-moves-forward-with-215m-settlement-in-doctor-sex-abuse-case-and-ex-patients-arent-happy/

Free Iran Rally in Warsaw calls for recognition of Iranian people's right to overthrow regime

Warsaw - Feb. 13, 2019 - A large crowd of Iranians, supporters of PMOI/MEK and NCRI, held a gathering in Warsaw as authorities from numerous countries gathered in the city to attend a meeting co-hosted by United States and Poland. The demonstrators were there to voice the long-suppressed desire of the Iranian people to live in a free state.

Ministers from several countries will be discussing the situation in the Middle East and especially the threats posed by the Iranian regime.

https://english.mojahedin.org/i/iranian-opposition-rally-warsaw-conference-poland